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Not to be an alarmist, and the only reason I'm posting this in this forum is because many people are thinking of traveling abroad to get treatment, including India.

A new super-bacteria is being transmitted possibly in hospitals that is resistant to all known antibiotics, and was first found in a patient admitted to a hosp in India. It's now in other countries though too.

If this isn't appropriate for this forum, moderators, please delete. But I do think people who are planning to travel outside the U.S. for treatment, should be aware, because it is out there and more likely to be contracted in hospitals.

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Also alarming (but not bacteria related) is the story Dr. Sclafani talked about in the new videos from the aug 7 fundraiser: a patient who spent the $10,000+ fee to travel to India and they did not look at his azygous and they gave him crappy images and they misdiagnosed a jugular, missed an obvious valve, and put the catheter into a smaller vein thinking it was the jugular.

"However, the truth in science ultimately emerges, although sometimes it takes a very long time," Arthur Silverstein, Autoimmunity: A History of the Early Struggle for Recognition

selkie wrote:We've read Dr. S believes the vein catheter to be the gold standard -- but how do we know those inserting the catheters are properly trained?

He's been making this point lately too. It's not even that the docs aren't trained, it's that best practices aren't figured out yet.

As I understand it, our veins are ridiculously odd. Veins that should be big are small, veins that should be small are big. I think it's not as simple to find one's way around as it seems at first blush.

"However, the truth in science ultimately emerges, although sometimes it takes a very long time," Arthur Silverstein, Autoimmunity: A History of the Early Struggle for Recognition

I agree with you CECE totally. THere is a lot to learn. How will we ever really know the true role of all these damn veins and the significance they have? The body has so many compensatory measures (collaterals)for blood flow it just seems there has to be some crazy viruses attacking us at the same time(Epstein Barr perhaps) and when you put poor blood flow together with being run down or virus stricken you can really get a sense of the fatigue consistent with MS>

Yes, I agree this news is alarming, but I also think that the procedure is not too invasive, (i.e. no cutting/stitching) and hospital stay is very short, so I wonder if the risk is less than for other surgeries?

Also, for those of you going to India - see the advert to the left on this page - affordable CCSVI surgery.

selkie wrote:We've read Dr. S believes the vein catheter to be the gold standard -- but how do we know those inserting the catheters are properly trained?

He's been making this point lately too. It's not even that the docs aren't trained, it's that best practices aren't figured out yet.

As I understand it, our veins are ridiculously odd. Veins that should be big are small, veins that should be small are big. I think it's not as simple to find one's way around as it seems at first blush.

Yes, lots to learn - glad Dr. S is on it & conferring with other doctors. For those who need the procedure now, ask lots of questions, and I think staying close to home as possible is best, or at least finding a follow-up doc close to home if you have to travel for the first procedure.

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as for the new bacteria, it's always a risk going into the hospital - while the surgery does involve minimal cutting, is the new bacteria airborne or you just have to come into contact with it, therefore, can it enter pores in the hands, etc. I don't think it's because of the cutting but I'm not sure... I read both the articles but my MS brain... sigh.

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